Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will launch its Chandrayaan 2 Mission to the Moon on 15 July, chairman Dr K Sivan said at a press conference on Wednesday.
“ISRO has firmed up that Chandrayaan 2 Mission will be launched on July 15 early morning at 2 hours 51 minutes,” Sivan said.
Advertisement
The launch will take place from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota.
Chandrayaan 2, consisting of a lander and a rover, will land on the surface of the Moon on either 6 or 7 September.
“The day we are going to land is either September 6 or September 7 – that day happens to be the beginning of a lunar day. For one full lunar day, the lander and rover will be functioning and carry out scientific experiments,” Sivan told the media.
The ISRO chief said that the Chandrayaan 2 Mission contains of three components and the composite body of Chandrayaan 2 is kept inside GSLV MK-III.
The Orbiter and Lander modules of Chandrayaan 2 will be carried by GSLV-MkIII. The Lander will land on the surface close to the Moon’s South Pole.
“The final descent operation will last 15 minutes,” Sivan said.
“The total mass of Chandrayaan 2 system is 3.8 ton; out of 3.8 ton, nearly 1.3 ton is the propeller,” he added.
Sivan said that the cost of the mission is Rs 603 crore. An additional Rs 375 crore will be incurred as launch cost.
“The cost of Chandrayaan 2 Mission mainly the satellite portion, including the support from foreign agencies as well as for navigation purpose, is Rs 603 crore,” he said.
ISRO had earlier today unveiled the first module picture of India’s second lunar mission from the ISRO Satellite Integration and Test Establishment in Bengaluru.
